The First Book of the Kings

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 9 -

(2 Chronicles 7:11–22)

And it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all that he desired, and was pleased to do,

That the Lord appeared to him the second time, as he had appeared to him in Gabaon.

And the Lord said to him: I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, which thou hast made before me: I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there always.

And if thou wilt walk before me, as thy father walked, in simplicity of heart, and in uprightness: and wilt do all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my ordinances and my judgments,

I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised David thy father, saying: There shall not fail a man of thy race upon the throne of Israel.

But if you and your children revolting shall turn away from following me, and will not keep my commandments, and my ceremonies, which I have set before you, but will go and worship strange gods, and adore them:

I will take away Israel from the face of the land which I have given them; and the temple which I have sanctified to my name, I will cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb, and a byword among all people.

And this house shall be made an example of: every one that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss, and say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this land, and to this house:

And they shall answer: Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and followed strange gods, and adored them, and worshipped them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

Solomon’s Additional Achievements

(2 Chronicles 8:1–18)

And when twenty years were ended after Solomon had built the two houses, that is, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king,

(Hiram the king of Tyre furnishing Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and gold according to all he had need of.) then Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

And Hiram came out of Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not,

And he said: Are these the cities which thou hast given me, brother? And he called them the land of Chabul, unto this day.

And Hiram sent to king Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold.

This is the sum of the expenses, which king Solomon offered to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Mello, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Heser, and Mageddo, and Gazer.

Pharao the king of Egypt came up and took Gazer, and burnt it with fire: and slew the Chanaanite that dwelt in the city, and gave it for a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

So Solomon built: Gazer, and Beth-horon the nether,

And Baalath, and Palmira in the land of the wilderness.

And all the towns that belonged to himself, and were not walled, he fortified, the cities also of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and whatsoever he had a mind to build in Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all the land of his dominion.

All the people that were left of the Amorrhites, and Hethites, and Pherezites, and Hevites, and Jebusites, that are not of the children of Israel:

Their children, that were left in the land, to wit, such as the children of Israel had not been able to destroy, Solomon made tributary unto this day.

But of the children of Israel Solomon made not any to be bondmen, but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and captains, and overseers of the chariots and horses.

And there were five hundred and fifty chief officers set over all the works of Solomon, and they had people under them, and had charge over the appointed works.

And the daughter of Pharao came up out of the city of David to her house, which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Mello.

Solomon also offered three times every year holocausts, and victims of peace offerings upon the altar which he had built to the Lord, and he burnt incense before the Lord: and the temple was finished.

And king Solomon made a fleet in Asiongaber, which is by Ailath on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom.

And Hiram sent his servants in the fleet, sailors that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

And they came to Ophir, and they brought from thence to king Solomon four hundred and twenty talents of gold.

(2 Chronicles 7:11–22)

When Solomon had finished the building of the LORD’s house, the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,

The LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

The LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before me. I have made this house holy, which you have built, to put my name there forever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my ordinances,

then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, ‘There shall not fail from you a man on the throne of Israel.’

But if you turn away from following me, you or your children, and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,

then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have made holy for my name, out of my sight; and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

Though this house is so high, yet everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this land and to this house?’

and they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them, and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this evil on them.’”

Solomon’s Additional Achievements

(2 Chronicles 8:1–18)

At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the LORD’s house and the king’s house

(now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and cypress trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

Hiram came out of Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they didn’t please him.

He said, “What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” He called them the land of Cabul

(a)

to this day.

Hiram sent to the king one hundred twenty talents

(b)

of gold.

This is the reason of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted: to build the LORD’s house, his own house, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, taken Gezer, burned it with fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it for a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

Solomon built in the land Gezer, Beth Horon the lower,

Baalath, Tamar in the wilderness,

all the storage cities that Solomon had, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel—

their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy—of them Solomon raised a levy of bondservants to this day.

But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondservants; but they were the men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.

These were the five hundred fifty chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, who ruled over the people who labored in the work.

But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of David’s city to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built Millo.

Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to the LORD three times per year, burning incense with them on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.

King Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents,(c) and brought it to King Solomon.

Footnotes

(a)9:13 “Cabul” sounds like Hebrew for “good-for-nothing”.

(b)9:14 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 120 talents is about 3.6 metric tons